The calendar might claim it's only the ninth day of the month but it will seem like Friday the 13th for Pirates fans who decide to tune in to TBS at 7:10 p.m. as Gerrit Cole takes on Tyler Glasnow in Game 5 of the American League Division Series, being played in San Diego.
Both starters have been dominant so far this postseason. Cole enters Friday night having won both of his postseason starts, allowing five earned runs in 13 innings of work (3.46 ERA), striking out 21 batters and walking just two.
Meanwhile Glasnow has been equally good, also coming out on top in both of his postseason outings, striking out 18 batters while walking four. The 27-year-old's ERA is a bit higher than Cole's (4.91) due to a rough beginning in his first start against the Blue Jays.
Glasnow will pitch on just two days rest, taking the hill after starting in game two on Tuesday where he struck out 10 batters in five innings, throwing 93 pitches.
Cole has had one extra day of rest, with his last outing being Monday, where he struck out eight in six innings of work, leading the Yankees to a 9-3 victory.
This will mark the second time the former Pirates will face off with the season on the line, with the first being in last year's ALDS when Cole was with the Astros.
In that matchup Cole flourished, going eight strong innings, allowing just one run on a solo homer and struck out 10, while Glasnow failed to make it out of the third inning.